SOME PROBLEMS ARE PATHWAY TO GOD’S PROMISE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021.

SUBJECT: SOME PROBLEMS ARE PATHWAY TO GOD’S PROMISE! 

Memory verse: "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in furnace of affliction." (Isaiah 48 vs 10.)

READ: Roman 5 vs 3 - 4; James 1 vs 2 - 4:

Romans 5:3: And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

5:4: and perseverance, character, and character, hope.

James 1:2: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

1:3: knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

INTIMATION:

Everybody faces problems in life, therefore, expect them. They sometimes are part of God's plan for believers in preparation for the scriptural promises for His children. Therefore, don't allow them to separate you from God's divine destiny for your life. Don't run away from your problems, face them squarely, accept God's promise of help, correct your attitudes, and act as you should.

God begins leading us to our divine destiny by giving us a scriptural promise. The promise is followed by a problem or series of problems, meant to bring us to the level of spiritual maturity whereby we can receive His miracle provision. If we reject His provision by not accepting the problems and facing them, we will miss our divine destiny, and we will live our life without meaning or purpose.

 A classic biblical illustration that helps us understand the absolute truth of problems, promise, and provision is found in the example of fate of the children of Israel in the hands of God. God made a covenant with Abraham and promised him that he will be a father of many nations. God particularly promised Abraham, and emphasized His promise to his son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob, that He would give their descendants a nation whose boundaries are forever specified in Scripture. This promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, would be God's miracle provision.

Famine drove the household of Jacob to Egypt, where God had sent Joseph his son ahead as their savior. Joseph's problems in the hands of his brothers, and while he was in Potiphar's house were God's divine arrangements geared toward His promise, and their miracle provisions. A Pharaoh who knew not Joseph came, and the Israelites were so much oppressed in the hands of the Egyptian king. God sent Moses as their deliverer and brought them out of the land of Egypt in the first Passover, which led them to their exodus out of Pharaoh's bondage.

Then came the problems; at the Red Sea, with the idol crafted by Aaron at Mount Sinai, and at the tent of meeting where two hundred and fifty Israelites who rebelled against Moses were buried alive by God in an earthquake. The children of Israel were stuck in the wilderness (their problem) for forty years, when it could have taken them only forty days to arrive at their promise. 

It was while in problems that God exposed the inner weaknesses preventing His children from reaching their destiny. They murmured against God, forgetting in a hurry His mighty acts, His promises, and were full of unbelief. Eventually God allowed the children of Israel to reach the Promised Land—His provision and their divine destiny. 

In one of the passages we read today, the apostle James says, “When you face trials” and not, “If You face trials,” because he presumes that we will have trials and that it is possible to profit from them. The point is not that we should pretend to be happy when we face problems, but that we should have a positive outlook because of what the problems can produce in our life. That is why he said we should 'count it all joy.' His advice is that we should turn our hardships into times of learning, especially its lesson on patience which is also called perseverance and steadfastness.

In the passage we read in Romans, the apostle Paul tells us that we will experience difficulties that help us grow. We rejoice in suffering, not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but because we know God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attacks to build our character. The problems we run into will develop our perseverance, which in turn will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future.

You probably find your patience tested in some way every day. Thank God for those opportunities to grow. Instead of complaining about our struggles, we should see them as opportunities for growth. Thank God for promising to be with you in tough times. Ask Him to help you solve your problems or to give you the strength to endure them. Then be patient. God will not leave you alone with your problems, He will stay close and help you grow. If you tarry, He will deliver His promises, and your provisions will come. He is an unchanging God, and never fails. He wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us from all pains. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I know that all things work together for good to them that love You, to them that You are the called according to Your purpose. And I love You with all my heart. The gift of Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins shows Your unparalleled love and thoughts for me. Give me the grace to remain steadfast, not shaken by any circumstances I face, knowing that Your thoughts for me are for good; to give me a future, and bring me to the expected end, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!